the birds and the skis

Our back bedroom has been like an aviary lately. I have been making lots of birds for Jenny's shop:

http://jenny-handmadehappiness.blogspot.co.uk/

... and also for a Christmas fair at Langrish House Hotel this Sunday. Jenny and I will be sharing a table with lots of beautiful things made by Handmade Happiness makers, and by Jenny and me. Hoping for a fun afternoon, must remember to bring the mince pies to keep us going!

Love a bit of glitter!

This is one of Jenny's wonderful big birds which you can see if you're passing her window

Mr P. will be off on his annual short skiing trip, so I can spend the whole weekend amongst my piles of unfinished projects!

We were at the big antiques market at the Bath and West Showground last weekend and were amused to see these old skis for sale- blimey, skiing is dangerous enough with modern equipment but can you imagine being up the Alps strapped to these? 

I'm not sure if the stall-holder had just replaced the poles with bits of old bamboo, or if that was the state of the art material circa 1900?

We also admired this beautiful silk log cabin quilt- exquisitely handmade and each square only about two inches across. Some of the pieces of silk looked as though they had come from the old fashioned embroidered valentine's cards that were popular during the first world war, and the owner said she thought it was made in the 1920's. I was very tempted to buy it (although rather expensive), but hesitated to take responsibility for such a fragile piece of history. It would be a shame for it to end up folded in a cupboard, and it would really be better off in a museum. I was happy to be allowed to take a photo though.

Come and say hallo if you are nearby on Sunday!

autumn trees at Mottisfont

Recently we made use of a brief window in the dreadful weather to visit Mottisfont Abbey, where we found superb autumn colours, and the largest plane trees in England, shedding golden pools of leaves. We went to see an exhibition of contemporary paintings of trees, as well as the permanent art collection.

Also this sculpture made from a circle of living trees, and an inner circle of upside down trees embellished with gold leaf. 

These look as though they should be part of some druid ritual, beautiful and mysterious.

In another corner of the garden is this mosaic by Boris Anrep, who was the lover of Maud Russell who owned Mottisfont in the forties. She has Maud's face above the glowing robes.

Opposite the angel, in a little niche, is this dainty tree.

We have visited Mottisfont lots of times, but never noticed this hidden mosaic. Lovely to find such unexpected vibrant colours on a grey day.

We all need an injection of beauty, especially at the low point of the year. 

pure gold

• Miserable weather
• Doing the grocery shopping
• Grumpy people
• Cat peeing on the sofa (yesterday- yuk!)
• Listening to Mr P banging on about motorbikes
• Cycling uphill
• Men with huge beards
• Beige cardigans (no actually, never anything beige)

All these things are bearable when wearing GOLD shoes.

I can't tell you how happy these make me.

what's brown and sticky?

The answer is of course: A Stick.

I have been channelling my inner Tudor scribe, and making paintbrushes from feathers. You can see a video showing how to do it, demonstrated by a man in a fetching Tudor hat, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x17BA33-7gs

I was going to try making a quill, but making a brush seemed more interesting. They used to be used for painting illuminated manuscripts, and I can vouch for the ultra- fine line you can make with them. I can't imagine how skilled the scribes would have been to do that kind of work in low light, and probably with frozen hands (and feet)...

As for handles, we have plenty of hazel in the hedge, and Mr P tells me that as I cut live twigs the wood will shrink on to the feather and hold it even tighter in time.

I bound the end of the twigs with thread, and I think the finished result has a nice rustic Japanese look to it.

It feels as though I should be making paintings of Mount Fuji, signed with one of those little red seal thingies (hope that doesn't say something rude in Japanese)..

I got carried away and made a whole lot- love the one still sporting a leaf, shame it won't last!

My favourite is this one, which is good for painting cats.

I do still have a big peacock feather, and a friend recently gave me a magnificent swan's feather which is just crying out to become a quill, so that ought to be my next project.

windowsill wednesday

Spring 2016 will be the season for tulips...

surprising lines

Well, we had  brilliant day in the woods on Sunday, despite me having no feeling in my frozen feet until lunchtime!

The Surrey Hills Wood Fair is a great big friendly affair, full of families, happy dogs and beardy men whittling things. The sun shone all day too- thank goodness it didn't take place one day later during the current pouring rain, or I might never have thawed my feet out again!

You could buy a pumpkin, 

or a great big auger,

or go on a carriage ride with a ukulele band on board...

or find a house for the fairies at the bottom of your garden.

There was also every kind of dog you could think of, wonderful subjects for a little monoprinting demonstration.

I talked to a lot of lovely people who put their names on my list of interested candidates for art workshop days next spring and summer. The workshops are planned to take place in the barn here, where Mervyn of Surrey Hills Green Wood Works holds courses on pole lathe turning and green wood furniture making.

http://www.surreyhills.org/local-businesses/green-wood-works

The art days should be fun, with inspiration provided by the beautiful surroundings. I'm looking forward to them!

This is the contact address if you are interested in joining in:

surprisinglines@gmail.com

and now, printing in the woods!

Following the success of the short monoprinting evening two weeks ago, I have even more rashly committed myself to offering art workshops to take place next year in a lovely barn at Bramley in Surrey.

So Mr P and I will be loading up the car at the crack of 7am on Sunday, to go and join in with the Surrey Hills Wood Fair, where I will be demonstrating in a tent for the day, and finding out if I can interest potential woodland artists for next spring and summer.

http://www.surreyhills.org/events/the-surrey-hills-wood-fair/

So just to make sure no bits are missing we've had a trial run of putting up our pergola in the garden. And if I don't get anyone interested in art workshops, I can always go in for fortune-telling instead!

With my mind on landscape and woodland I've been making monoprints- nothing like a deadline to galvanise one into action...

I am more than a little apprehensive- will it rain? Will I need my thermal vest? Will anybody be interested in a small woman in a stripy tent? I'll let you know after Sunday!